Dust of the Road --White Harbor (The Rogue's Shadow)

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DwMcAliley
Posts: 53
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 10:02 am

Dust of the Road --White Harbor (The Rogue's Shadow)

Post by DwMcAliley »

Vantick slipped through the forest, moving like a stalking cat. He flowed over the ground, his soft boots barely rustling the leaves. In the dim light beneath the thick broadleaf canopy, Vantick was a ghost. The shadows embraced him, and when he stood still, even the keenest eye could not find him.

He was one with the darkness.

He topped a low rise, and the trees thinned a bit. The first large stone fingers of the mountains broke through the thick moss here and there. Behind him, the mountains rose, clawing at the skies. Somewhere in that tangled maw of stone was the entrance to Covetous. Vantick could feel it pulling at him. It enthralled him and sickened him at once.

He closed his eyes briefly, and inhaled the richness of it. Only a moment did he allow his resolve to falter. Then, the cold, iron hand of his will clamped down again. His eyes oepened, and he stepped out of the shadow realm, and into the fading hours of twilight.

The view was spectacular. To the south and east of him, the forest stretched, sloping gently away from the menacing mountains. And, in the distance, the faint line of the road from Minoc and Vesper to Britain.

It was that road that had drawn him here. Well, to be more specific, it was the people on that road. Vantick had seen him a time or two before. The first time, there had been an odd feeling just before the man walked into the tavern. Like a push, and a pull at the same time. Vantick had shrugged it off.

Then, it had come again. And this time, there was the light. It wrapped around the man like a cape, and flowed through him like a flood. He was the light, and it was him. Vantick had been nearly forced to shield his eyes from the intensity of it.

And now, he felt that odd force hit him, and he thought he saw a shimmer in the distance. Here, it the living world, it was more difficult to move and more difficult to see. The other world had its price, though, it was a dear one. Still, some prices were worth paying.

Vantick watched as the party road past. He could make out a couple of figures, the one in the lead in particular. The rider shone like a beacon again, but the distance made it more tolerable.

Turbo Al'Esaul. That was his name.

Vantick would remember it.

He had seen a handful of people glow that intensely before. They had always proven useful in the end. He had no doubt this one would do the same. Still, he had to be careful. He couldn't afford to push to far and have things fall apart.

Vantick watched until the party had faded into the hazy distance before turning from the hilltop and returning to the forest. As the trunks grew closer and closer, and the canopy closed overhead, Vantick felt the shadows begin to reach out for him.

He held them off as long as he could, and then he slipped into the shadow realm, and turned towards the mountains, and the pull of the dungeon. If the shadows wanted him to become Death, then have it their way. He would bring Death to the shadows.

A wicked grin split Vantick's face, and the enchanted staff twirled in his hands as he ran. The charred, blackened wood was covered iwht etched spells, and the silver endcaps glowed with an eery blue power.

He would do what he must to see that the things that must be done were done.

Tears streamed down his face as he laughed into the night.

The Rogue was alone in the shadows. Alone with his demons. And the shadows would keep him.

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